



































Essays and Poems 


BY 


HARRIETTE MERRILL YOUNG 

























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04-151 /Ti 
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Copyright 1923 by 
Harriette Merrill Young 


OCT 19 73 

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DEDICATED TO 

GRACE 

MY BELOVED SISTER 


IN THE SPIRIT 









MODERN VERSUS ANCIENT RELIGION. 


TJTRUE religion, it seems to me, to be the response 
1IL to, and recognition of, the intangible, everlast¬ 
ing and Divine energy that humans call God— 
and which pervades and calls into being every ma¬ 
terial thing. 


As interpreted by the Orthodox Clergy, it takes 
the form of dogmas, creeds and ceremonies, which 
savor not of Christ’s simple philosophy of love and 
realization of God, as the source of all things in which 
we live, move and have our Being. A man or woman 
is as progressive and spiritual as his or her sense of 
God. 


If we invest that power with a personality that de¬ 
mands incessant glorification, constant supplication 
for forgiveness of so-called sins—(which many times 
are human errors, and may be the by-paths that lead 
at last to the right road)—if we invest this Supreme 
Power with such a personality, then we have accepted 
the theories expounded by the Orthodox Churches 
of every nation. 

However, some great thinkers of modern times 
have started various cults that have interpreted the 
teachings of Jesus Christ in words of love rather than 
fear, and given us hope and even assurance of things 
eternal which can be accomplished right here and now 
—also a Divine parent to help us out of material 


5 



difficulties. One who is not apart from us, but a part 
of us. According to the modern philosophy of life, 
God has given each individual the equipment for 
mental, moral and spiritual development—it is ours 
to make the most of. The Christ said, “According 
to your faith, be it unto you.” If we accept the Deity 
of the old testament, we must believe in a God of 
fear. If we see that Being in the simple light of the 
man Jesus Christ who taught that “God is Love” 
then our feelings are reverential rather than fearful. 
If religion was a study of God’s manifestations of 
Himself to man, in the form of mind and its possibili¬ 
ties, nature and its glories, instead of observance of 
forms and ceremonies and acceptance of creeds, then 
would we more readily understand and sense God. 
Man spends all his energy in progressing in art, 
science and literature, but in the thought that would 
enlarge his understanding in the above mentioned 
things, he refuses to join the onward march, and 
clings to the theories and teachings of an age, when 
science had not advanced sufficiently to disprove 
many of the things believed and professed by the 
Orthodox Clergy of the present day. 

According to an old German proverb, “God sleeps 
in the stone, dreams in the animal, and comes to con¬ 
sciousness in man.” We require material nourish¬ 
ment for the body, mental nourishment for the needs 
of mind—so every soul reaches to relieve its soul 
hunger. The cold creeds and dogmas of the Church 
have proven to many thinking people, the stone that 
was given, when bread was needed. If human ears 


6 


had been content with the dull thud of the “Tom 
Tom,” and said, “That is the ‘ne plus ultra’ of all 
things wonderful in sound,” then the universe would 
never have vibrated to the indescribably wonderful 
tones of a Stradivarius, or revelled in the art of a 
Paganini. 

To the people who have unlocked the orthodox 
gates of the mind and send mental messengers in 
search of truth, God has revealed Himself in forms 
innumerable, glory inconceivable, and love and muni¬ 
ficence unbounded. Progressive thinkers can say 
with gratitude that the 20th Century has ushered in 
new and higher forms of religion which have paved 
the way for a new birth of faith, hope and love which 
are the foundations of a true religion. 


7 


EVERLASTINGNESS. 


Belief in the continuity of life apart from the 
physical body, is absolutely necessary to make the ex¬ 
istence on the earth plane really worth all the energy 
it takes to solve the human problems and overcome 
physical infirmities. To have faith and hope is not 
sufficient. We must attain the reality of belief in the 
Everlastingness of personality and individuality in a 
form as recognizable and definite as the one we inhabit 
in earth life. How often an individual expresses con¬ 
tempt for, or a lack of belief in something, and inquiry 
reveals the fact that the knowledge of that thing is 
limited because of never having investigated or in¬ 
terested himself in it. Spiritualism more than any 
other Truth is subjected to such criticism. 

In the late war millions of spirits inhabiting strong 
young bodies, vibrant with life and love, were brutally 
and suddenly released from their material selves, their 
spiritual energy being so strong (not having been 
wearied with fighting long physical illnesses) they in 
their ecstacy and realization that Life is still theirs in 
greater abundance and forever, have forced their 
loved ones on earth to realize their existence on a 
spiritual plane. 

Each creature endowed with life is to that degree 
Divine and is as deathless as God Himself. Many 
saunter through life in idle indifference, vaguely won¬ 
dering how and where the journey ends. Few dis- 



cover that it only ends on the reflected Road of Reality 
and is taken up on the Road of Everlastingness. One 
who is born blind can only vaguely imagine the bright 
beauty of the day. So with humans whose spiritual 
vision is dimmed with human hates and prejudices— 
they see but dimly their everlastingness. 

It is impossible to measure the depth of inspiration 
and ecstatic satisfaction one feels in his knowledge of 
the Psychic element back of all visible and invisible 
nature. What a calamity for one to become deep 
rooted in prejudice—to lock the great storehouses of 
the mind against the hosts of messengers that come 
direct from the Divine Source with revelations of 
power and things Eternal. 

Shakespeare made Hamlet to exclaim, “What a 
piece of work is man! how noble in reason! how in¬ 
finite in faculty! in action how like an angel! in 
apprehension how like a God!” Some are like men 
with normal limbs who prefer to use crutches, so little 
does mankind in general care to understand its power 
of apprehension, thereby attaining the knowledge to 
live to the utmost on every plane. Each one has the 
master key to his mental storehouse. The earth is ours 
to subdue and subject its forces to our will. The spirit 
in each is an Everlasting Entity, making eternally its 
own environment and is not conscious of an ending. 

Life for the most part is man working against 
nature and the result is ignorance, suoerstition, con¬ 
flict, discord and inharmony in general. Divine Law 
creates, provides for, protects everything endowed 


with life. The tribulations that affect mankind are 
of its own making. 

The Everlastingness of Life is releasing one’s be¬ 
lief in the importance of flesh, and revealing the truth 
that the so-called dead are not dead, but merely re¬ 
moved to other planes of activity. Life and Love are 
not in vain, but are the buds that blossom into im¬ 
perishable flowers. 


10 


THE WAY, THE LIFE AND THE TRUTH. 


The Way. 

The way of life is along the road of pain, weari¬ 
ness, pitilessness and poverty, until through human 
strife, we are led into the road of spiritual vision, and 
stand at last at the Gate of Reality to hear the Divine 
Command—“Enter ye into the joy of the Lord.” 

Back of the miasma of pain and woe, shines the 
Light of Divine Love, ever burning until the material 
atmosphere is cleared and straight before us lies the 
path that leads to the understanding and knowledge 
“that casteth out fear.” 

Life. 

Life is the pulsating vibrating joy of Being, shout¬ 
ing its ecstacy, torture, sanctity and endlessness, sur¬ 
rounded always by love, human and divine. Material 
life is the soul’s youth, drawing unto itself wisdom 
for eternal use. Life is the kaleidoscope through 
which Infinity views its handiwork, ever changing, 
always harmonious in coloring, and limitless in varie¬ 
ty. It is the Universal Institution where the Spirit 
student acquires the knowledge of its Unity with its 
Maker. The Spirit, a self-taught Entity, has it devel¬ 
opment rewarded by endless promotions. Life, the 
Holy breath, the Divine energy, the essence of rap¬ 
turous Divine Love, calling to its offspring to glorify 
It in nature, art and mankind on the highest plane of 
Thought, Brotherly Love! 


11 



Truth. 

I am, and I will be! Death is a new life, and good 
embodies everything to attain the soul’s aim. Things 
visible are not the eternal realities—breath cannot be 
visualized, one cannot paint the wind. Stars can be 
seen, but the space between, which holds each orbit 
in its place, cannot be photographed or imagined. The 
seed is important, but the energy that produces some¬ 
thing from it, is the reality—the vision back of the 
eye, the touch back of the hand, the smell, taste— 
all are eternal and indescribable. Flesh is merely a 
semblance, useful while it serves its soul’s purpose, 
but spirit, personality and memory are the intangible, 
unchangeable realities, mystical and sublime, as are 
the ways of Infinity. 

“Who hath gathered the wind in his fists? Who 
hath bound the waters in a garment?’’ What is His 
name? His name is, the Way, the Truth and the 
Life, the Root and the Offspring, Man in God and 
God in Man. 


12 


THE UNHOLY TRINITY. 


Hate, prejudice, bigotry! The unholy trinity that 
keeps up a mighty conflict “with Progression in the 
vain hope of triumph. Scorpions of the earth, reach¬ 
ing out their claws to annihilate every constructive 
thought and being! How unhealthy are such mor¬ 
bidities in the lives of nations and people. 

This venom penetrates the mental and organic 
life of every thing, creating the poison thoughts 
that result in war, causing people to array themselves 
against each other for supremacy of the earth and the 
favor of the Almighty. How unthinkable it is that 
men and women who have the capacity for construc¬ 
tive thought should join the ranks of these armies of 
destruction, and lend their aid for barbaric instead of 
human influence. 

However, such is the case, and we meet many 
of them to-day who still deride the idea of nations co¬ 
operating in a league to abolish senseless, degrading, 
murderous conflict. Such as they, create a sinister 
glow around the earth, and many crusaders and 
martyrs must be sacrificed, before the white, pure 
light of justice and good-fellowship shall change 
blackness to etheric radiance. When we realize that 
we make our own destiny, and rise and fall according 
to our works, then will mankind demonstrate its 
worthiness to be called the highest expression of God 
in material form. We exist as perfect beings in the 


13 



thoughts of our Creator, and each one’s mission on 
earth is to learn to play his particular instrument in 
the great human orchestra so that the result will 
eventually be a great symphony played as if by one 
man. 

Each progressive thinker, who makes of himself a 
leader, is a John the Baptist preparing the way for a 
better than he to come. These voices crying in the 
wilderness have made ready the path for scientific and 
spiritual benefactors, who take up the cry of the great 
prophet John, saying, “The crooked shall be made 
straight, the rough places shall be made smooth, and 
all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’’ 

I hear highly intellectual people advocate keeping 
out of European troubles. When we live unto our¬ 
selves, we are unfair to the world. Just as my arm 
is a part of my body, so am I a part of God’s body, 
the earth—His material self—so how can my body 
be normal if my arm is abnormal? 

Each has his own mission, and isn’t it a glorious 
thought to feel that the great Choir Master has chosen 
each to play his part? What a blessing to be able to 
serve in making the harmony perfect. How unfor¬ 
tunate are they whose instruments are out of tune 
with the Infinite thought, and who, though having the 
knowledge to get into the proper harmony, prefer to 
remain disgruntled listeners instead of participants in 
the Divine Chorus. 

“Strike the rock with your hammer and the jar is 
felt in Jupiter,’’ said a great philosopher. We are too 


14 


much a part of the whole scheme of things to isolate 
ourselves from Humanity’s problems. Man is one 
with nature, society and God. He must complete his 
mission. Jesus said, “Let not him who seeks, cease 
until he finds, and when he finds, he shall wonder, and 
wondering he shall reach the Kingdom, and having 
reached the Kingdom, he shall rest.’’ 

The only way to save our lives is to lose them. 
The only way to save a nation is to sacrifice its lower 
self and gain a higher one. Gardens are not made to 
bloom by locking seeds in a box, but by planting in 
the earth, so saving them for our pleasure. 

In nature we find God’s ideal for human life, 
and everything co-operates to make a perfect whole. 

Many will die for Truth in the ages to come, but 
finally Mankind will learn the Truth, and “Truth 
shall make it free.’’ 


15 


LOVE—RADIATING HARMONY AND BEAUTY 


There is a joy transcending all other pleasure, in 
contemplating the perfection of Nature, and the com¬ 
pleteness of Divine Law. The construction and de¬ 
velopment demonstrates in color and fragrance, the 
infinitude of the Maker of all things. One feels in¬ 
spiration in the thought of the gentle, harmonious 
color blending and awesome mysteriousness of the 
dawn—the hour when souls are nearer to the spirit 
world than at any other time. Gratitude thrills us in 
the warmth and life giving energy of the noonday 
sun and the bursting forth of the heavens into the 
gorgeousness of sunset. Nature revelling in Beauty 
and Harmony. Then comes the peaceful, prayerful 
hour when twilight fades into evening and the heavens 
tell the Glory of God in the constellation. What a 
privilege mortals enjoy in being allowed to serve their 
apprenticeship for immortality, in a world so resplen¬ 
dent with Divine art. 

Each individual reflects the same qualities that go 
to make up these mystical garments of Beauty and 
Harmoniousness. The Divine inspiration for these 
things is Love—the Creator’s fulfillment of Joy. His 
breath giving life to all things. His Being, pulsating 
and throbbing with energy, joy and love, demonstrat¬ 
ing it in the abundance of things necessary to sustain 
life and to inspire art and literature. 


16 



To the human sense, the significance of Love, 
seems to be the attraction between individuals of op¬ 
posite sex or the bond of affection between friends, 
or the truest of all loves, the undefinable something 
that knows no limit to sacrifice or unselfishness—the 
Divine tie that exists between parent and child. 

To the materialist, Love is a transitory emotion 
that satisfies its bodily senses, and ends when that body 
is incapacitated for response to its demands. To the 
one whose thoughts have led him into the knowledge 
of Divine Law, Love is the soul’s center, which at¬ 
tracts other souls to it, and through the natural pro¬ 
cess of evolution, purifies until it radiates the perfec¬ 
tion of Divine Love. Selfless and eternal, it is the 
essence of Being, radiating outwardly as do the sun’s 
rays, and is the Spirit of the good Samaritan that re¬ 
lieves the woes of humanity by its helpful, encourag¬ 
ing understanding. 

To itself it draws good-will, power and health. 
Love, sun of the soul, the human solar system, the 
central orbit of each individual’s eternal self, express¬ 
ing itself in motherhood, music, all Beauty and Har¬ 
mony! A Divinely energetic force, it knows no evil 
and is the Spirit of all things, the secret of life and 
eternity. Few there are who make the discovery, 
for mankind is mostly occupied with semblances, 
transitory and unsatisfying. Sleeping Humanity must 
awake eventually to the imperishability of personality 
and memory. Eternal souls we are whose destiny it 
is to perfect ourselves, through human experiences, 


17 


until we have mastered the problems of life and be¬ 
come one in knowledge with God. God is Love, and 
Love is God, a force inexhaustible, enriching forever 
the Giver and Receiver. 

“The clouded earth goes up in sweet breathed flowers, 
In music dies poor human speech 
And into Beauty blow these hearts of ours 
When Love is born in each. 

Daisies are white upon the churchyard sod, 

Sweet tears the clouds lean down and give; 

The world is very lovely—My God! 

I thank Thee that 1 live.” 


18 


WHAT IS HAPPINESS? 


Does anyone ever attain real human worth who 
has not passed through the fire of disillusionment, 
perhaps the keenest form of disappointment? It is 
through such experience that we attain real human 
sympathy. Our disappointments come so often 
through things that seem quite important, but really 
are of little consequence in comparison to the things 
that go to make up life, and I mean life in the eternal 
sense. 

How much energy is wasted on vanities. Instead 
of employing our inanimate possessions, such as 
houses, lands, gold, etc., they employ us to our de¬ 
struction. Simplicity isn’t doing without things, but 
in using them to make life a thing of beauty now and 
always. 

Religion isn’t renunciation but radiation. Don’t 
put a ban on everything that is wholesome, natural 
and progressive, shutting God out of life. We must 
have joys, intellectual and physical, just as we have 
the air which is invisible to the eye, and then the 
visible manifestations of God such as vast oceans, 
and mountain chains and other materializations of 
nature. 

Many people become mentally unbalanced be¬ 
cause of failure to achieve some material thing, which, 
if they had been successful in accomplishing, would 


19 



have given them only transitory pleasure or gain. 
Narrow restricted ideas prevent discrimination be¬ 
tween the wheat and the chaff and hinder mental 
control. 

Happiness to-day seems to have eluded Humanity 
in general. Certain forms, of what the average per¬ 
son considers as such, exist only for those who have 
money to indulge their whims. Of recent years, men 
and women are paying more attention to writers who 
devote their talent to humanity, by explaining the 
philosophical ways to attain a happy mental state, 
teaching humans to know the difference in the things 
that merely divert and the things that we have with us 
always. 

Crucifixion and persecution usually follow the 
attempt of any individual who builds his dwelling on 
a higher plane of morality than that of his time. Pro¬ 
gression is a slow growth because we haven’t yet 
realized how mighty it is to change man’s opinions. 

Outside the radius of one’s own light all is dark¬ 
ness, and it is not penetrated by high sounding mean¬ 
ingless speeches and phrases. Truthful simplicity 
shines through like the beacon light through the fog 
and storm, to guide hopeless despairing souls to a 
place of refuge. 

Simplify religion so that men may enjoy its com¬ 
fort—simplify ourselves by understanding nature and 
its laws. 


20 


David in his supplication to God voices the cry 
of those who are still in darkness when he said, “Save 
me, Oh, God, for the waters have come into my soul. 
1 sink in deep mires where there is no standing. I am 
come into deep waters where the floods o’erflow me.” 
But the greatest spiritual teacher of all has given the 
assurance to mankind that the only waters that can 
cover one’s soul are the wave thoughts of ignorance 
washed in on the tides of theological rust. 

“New occasions teach new duties, Time 
Makes ancient good uncouth. 

They must upward still and onward, who 
Would keep abreast of Truth. 

So before us gleam her camp-fires, we 
Ourselves must Pilgrims be, 

Launch our Mayflower, and steer boldly 
Through the desperate winter sea— 

Nor attempt the Future’s portals, with 
The past’s blood-rusted key.’’ 


21 


THOUGHTS ALONG THE WAY. 


How filled with interest is Life if we make of it a 
work shop for our thoughts, learning how to con¬ 
vert it into a garden of beautiful bloom instead of a 
wilderness of perplexity, with problems accepted and 
unsolved. Our ways are very trifling and often lead 
us into dissatisfaction and painful experiences. 
Dreams remain unrealized, because we feverishly live 
without even trying to understand what is meant by 
Life. 

It is the origin and essence of all things, filled with 
precious jewels which escape our possession through 
ignorance, foolish pride and utter disregard of its 
realities and how to find and retain them. 

What blasphemy to ignore the presence of God 
in all nature, or to endow the Creator with attributes 
less wise and loving than his creatures. A Power 
so Infinite in love, that even the merest form of life 
is protected and sustained, is referred to by supposed¬ 
ly intelligent people as a “God of Vengeance.” We 
should be “God loving” instead of “God fearing” 
people. 

A bountiful Creator shows us how to be merci¬ 
ful. An Infinite Artist shows us that Harmony and 
Beauty are His laws. 

We may delude ourselves into discord, but we 
pay for the disobedience. A religion of love and 


22 



pity is necessary to mankind, rather than the barbar¬ 
ous codes of slaughter and vengeance of the early ages. 

Life is all life. There is no such thing as death 
in its composition. All life has its methods and 
change, but once Divine Energy enters into a thing, 
it can only change its form, but never be destroyed. 
We may never in one plane of existence realize our 
ideals, but we can all lift our eyes up to the hills. 

It is God’s law that height means purification. 
Only in the valley is the air dank and filled with 
miasma. The hill tops abound in rarified energy. It 
is easier to stay in the valley where it is cool and 
shady, but we surely die for want of light and heat, 
which means Life. 

When natures are not warmed with sympathy 
and kindliness, they shrink into dwarfed personalities, 
and can only come into greatness by letting in the 
warmth of love and understanding, which beget tol¬ 
erance and mercy for all struggling humanity. We 
all need each other, and the only independence that 
rises above ignorance, and has justification, is the feel¬ 
ing one gets from having emancipated himself from 
human belief in his limitations. When one can feel 
his own importance as an entity, one with God and 
Life in possibilities, then can he say with an exultant 
independence, “I have overcome the world!” Then 
more than ever, is he humble in his attitude toward 
his less fortunate brothers. 

Superior attitudes toward life and people, which 
so often are displayed by men and women, in my 


23 


opinion make the buffoonery in the human drama. 
But we must have comedians as well as tragedians, so 
even they serve their purpose. 

To be grateful for a friend, to give without thought 
of reward, to help by sympathy and encouragement, 
and to radiate as much good will as we can, seems to 
me to be one good way of developing a character, 
which leaves sweet memories with our loved ones and 
friends—our monuments for earth and an eternal 
atmosphere for our spirit life. 


24 


YOUTH. 


Love life with all its joys, sorrows, its hard work 
and happy idleness. The secret of youth is enthusiasm 
—the ecstacy of things lies in being enthusiastic. 
Years are uninteresting things—be an individual of all 
time and no age. Defy age by retaining vigor through 
mental development—rob time of its destructive 
power by thinking constructive thoughts. An intel¬ 
lectual fortune is our inheritance—earth, with all its 
wonders, science, art, music and literature. 

We seek to perpetuate youth in the drugs pre¬ 
pared for physical uses, in cures and famous baths, 
but the fountain which eluded Ponce de Leon was in 
himself, and so with every individual it is always ac¬ 
cessible. Good thoughts, profitable occupation, high 
ideals and sincere friendships—these are the things 
worth while, the things, that make youth as it should 
be, and the added years even greater bliss, because of 
the understanding and ability to truly enjoy them. 

Custom has formed the depressing habit of belief 
in the decreasing usefulness of the flesh with passing 
years. Our thoughts express our bodies to such an 
extent, that if we hold the aging thought, the living 
cells (of which the body is composed) cease to absorb 
life giving energy, and the result is the appearance of 
age. 


25 



Youth is in the spirit, not in the body. Live in 
the spirit of youth instead of the matter of age. Each 
individual has the Divine Chemist indwelling, and if 
we do not hinder the laboratory work by wrong 
methods of thinking and living, we should become 
more intellectual, useful and efficient because of our 
unfolding faculties. Titian painted his great “Venus” 
alter sixty years, Verdi wrote “Othello” and “Fal- 
staff” in his seventies, Gladstone became Prime Min¬ 
ister of England at eight-three, after years of opposi¬ 
tion from Parliament. 

Keep the candle of youth burning steadily by pro¬ 
tecting the mind against useless destructive thoughts, 
such as dwelling on unpleasant past experiences, see¬ 
ing sadness in art where there should be beauty and 
inspiration. God laughs through the sunshine, the 
bird’s song, the brilliant beauty of the flowers and the 
mind of man. 

Oh Friend, come away from the griefs that kill— 
Drink of life’s joys, with God’s Youth thyself fill; 
March on, with no care for the yester years, 

Nor list’ to the voice filled with memories* tears. 

’Tis in Spirit we show, what time only can give, 

More wisdom, more faith and knowledge to live; 
With delight in the heart it seems always fair 
weather— 

Keep Youth and the thoughts ever house-mates 
together. 


2 G 


HOPE. 


Hope is the optimistic and eternal child born of 
Faith. In the natural process of evolution it emerges 
from its chrysalis stage into “belief”, which transcends 
Faith, and embraces knowledge and understanding. 

Yet the beauty of Hope is never lost, and its stimu¬ 
lating effect on Spirit and Body continues to dominate 
every stage of its development. Belief, understanding 
and knowledge are the essence and result of Hope. 
The Creator has imbued it with an everlasting appeal 
to everything endowed with Divine Energy. Mortals 
eternally hope for success, happiness, health, love and 
most of all, life—in and apart from the Body. 

Our greatest hope is to retain conscious com¬ 
munion through all time, with those bound to us by 
ties of love and friendship. 

Hope, the Invisible, Intangible Reality, tells us 
that Life is more than meat, and the Body than rai¬ 
ment—that God is all goodness, mercy, and truth and 
these facts endure for generations without end. 

There is no speech or language where the voice 
of Hope is not heard—there is no darkness where its 
light cannot penetrate, and there is nothing hid from 
its sight. “More to be desired it is than fine gold, and 
sweeter it is than the honey and the honey-comb.” 
From Infancy through Immortality it is our “Strength 
and our Salvation”—our sunlight on Life’s highway, 


27 



and the constellation through nights of spiritual and 
material trials. 

It is the Good Samaritan ever ready to lend its 
aid, and the Divine whisper that tells of Immortal 
Joys, life without end, love everlasting and ideals to 
be realized. 

It is the destroyer of the Arch enemy of mankind, 
Fear—and is the mighty voice that delivers us from 
shame, sickness and death. 

Hope is the essence of the teaching of the Naza- 
rene, promising justice, peace, and mercy to the poor, 
oppressed, wretched and fallen. We enter the “Holy 
of Holies’’ and there find Hope changing vice to vir¬ 
tue, hatred to love, darkness into light, and tyranny 
to mercy and justice. 

Hope is the Life’s To-morrow with its bright prom¬ 
ises of sunlight and a new day. “Let Thy mercy be 
upon us, O! Lord, according as we hope in Thee.’* 


28 


“HOPE” 


Man lives and loves in the light of the sun, 

The moon and the stars show the way 
To guide storm tossed ships to a Harbor safe, 
When the winds and the tides hold sway. 

And ever telling in whispers Divine 
Of things eternal and true, 

Sounds the voice of Hope, to mortals oppres’t 
When human sense has obscured the view. 

Oh Hope! you’re a friend so gentle and kind, 
That bids us to seek, where we’re sure to find. 



FULFILLMENT. 


Thou art the Way, the Truth and the Life, 

AH that Thou art is re-born in me. 

No matter how humble, how great or how small, 
We’re Eternity’s children, awaiting its call. 

The Bud’s fulfilled promise in fragrance and flower 
Is God’s message to man of Soul’s radiance and 
power. 

Thou art the Life, and I, too, am the Way, 

With Truth marching onward, tho’ man bids it stay. 
Martyred, bleeding, triumphant—Oh! Trio much 
blessed! 

Eternally shining—Divine stars on the Crest. 


30 



BENEFICENCE! 


I wonder why on Life’s great way, 

We seldom think to do or say 
The helpful generous thing or deed, 

Which is really all that humans need. 

Life is so filled with joy and things, 

That one can be simple, and have more than kings. 

To laugh, to sing, to love—much more 
Than having palaces, or wealth galore. 

God in Infinite Love provided, 

That all good things shall be divided. 

If one has talent, the other has lands, 

And they all are from His Beneficent Hands. 

But each has love, as all have God, 

Being One and the Same, 

Flesh only is sod. 

Far greater than all is assurance Christ given, 

That life isn’t reached by a weapon tho’ driven 
Till it reaches the heart, and its function ceases— 

All praise be to Him! Who then life increases. 


SI 



“LIFE” 


Life is a Holy breath 

That vibrates high and low, 

Filling the things we call time and space 
With sensations of ceaseless flow. 

Some plod through like soulless things— 
Their feet touching only the sod, 

While others repond to Beauty’s call 
And find their way to God. 

The mighty voice of thunder— 

The dawn’s gray softness still, 

The harvest moon and the sunset grand 
Bespeak the power and art revealed 
To those who will understand. 

Love in its myriad forms comes to each— 
Mother, child, sweetheart and wife— 
So Power, Art, Beauty and Love, 

With God for the cause, make Life. 


32 



WHO ARE THE BRAVE? 


Whom call we brave in life’s human band? 

Is it he who dies at a king’s command? 

Or the one that suffers and toils thro’ tears, 

That loved ones may live through the weary years? 

Is it courage to die, when in glory it’s done? 

Or is it courage to live with good deeds unsung? 

The world is a battlefiield, human worth is the test, 
The brave and courageous, play the game—give 
their best. 

The brave do and give, without thought of the fame, 
Like one martyred and humble, who from Galilee 
came, 

They live and they die caring naught for reward, 

But no seed is sown, without harvest from God. 

So all are the brave, as each has to live, 

We must willingly do and unselfishly give— 

And we find our joy in work, love and laughter, 

Serving man, we serve God—the reward will come 
after. 


33 



MY DESIRE. 


This would I be to him, the roses and the wine 
That fill his cup with fragrance and delight, 

To inspire him with courtesy, to loose his tongue 
to speak, 

Of things he never said or dreamed by night. 

Oh, to be like children left at large, 

To play in fields of flowers 
For days and years, thru sunny noons, 

Without reserve, to love thru life’s long hours. 

His strong yet gentle arms I feel, 

For his kiss on my lips 1 sigh, 

I’ve built an altar, a shrine to love, 

Ah, sweet! Must the fire die? 


34 



LOVE’S WAYS. 


Love is so arrogant 
Love is so meek— 

Its passionate kiss or loving caress 
Will burn or brush gently thy cheek. 

Now it is King 
Now it is slave— 

But always true love 
Has courage—is brave. 

It laughs and it sighs, 

It suffers and cries, 

But true love is constant 
The soul never dies. 

It is Winter, Spring, Summer. 

It is joy, it is grief, 

It has emotions and seasons, 

They are ecstatic, but brief. 

Its ways need no reason 
And after a season 
It might languish, in Spirit and Truth. 

But alack and a day! It’s just Love’s sweet way, 
It is only the Spirit of Youth. 


35 



CHANGELESS. 


I despair for the winter that’s in my heart— 

For the miles and years that between us roll, 

But the love that is yours will traverse the miles, 
And the years bring it nearer my soul. 

With tears and longing 1 wait for the morn, 

Praying sunrise to end the chill night, 

So in faith, hope and love, I must live and wait, 
Knowing God maketh all things right. 

The flowers will fade, the birds will have fled, 

My love will be changeless, though the heart be dead. 


3G 


YOUTH. 


To Sydney. 

I see the joy and ecstacy of it 
In your sparkling brown eyes, 

And your body so fit— 

In the curve of your chin 
And the gloss of your hair, 

Oh Sydney, dear, you’re so young and so fa" 

You’re at the dawn of life 
All things like that hour 
Seem roseate, and soft 
And love a fair flower. 

Your throat has the bird’s trill, 

Your soul has the song— 

May God in you keep the melody sweet, 

Your whole life long. 


37 



THE MESSAGE. 


The River flows on for a thousand years, 

Never ceasing its work or its play, 

Like memories dear of yester year 
When to-morrow will be to-day. 

Oh Time! could you speak and tell the young heart, 
That the joys with which they never will part, 
Are the ones they give, and not those they receive ? 
Ah, care free Youth —How hard to believe! 

Just keep on giving and the passing years 
Like withering leaves fly away, 

And we wake on Life’s morning 
As from dreamless sleep, 

To greet an Eternal New Day. 

Learn from the River a lesson, 

Learn from Life its song— 

A thousand years are but few when we’re doing, 
Eternal Life, when we give, is not long. 


38 



TO-MORROW. 


Joy, gladness, pain and sorrow, 

In some form or another 
Will be ours to-morrow; 

But the day that brings joy, 
And the day that brings gladness 
Will be one that brings you, 

Is it, dearest, my madness? 

But ever I’ll hope 

At some time, in some place, 
Your eyes will meet mine, 

I’ll feel your embrace. 

Perhaps time and absence 
May change my to-morrow, 
From joy and gladness 
Into pain and to sorrow. 


39 



THE LOOM OF LIFE. 


The Loom of Life is an Infinite plan 

To weave God’s thoughts on the soul of Man, 

Life is the woof that makes or mars, 

And the same Divine mind directs sun, moon and 
stars. 

In and out the design is woven 

And the soul responds to His thought, 

If one thread is missed, then the beauty is marred, 
And one life with mistake is fraught. 

So for ages and ages the loom works on 
And the warp is the soul of Man; 

If Beauty, Love, Service are pictured there 
We have worked out God’s Infinite plan. 


40 



DESPAIR. 


Sorrow, I have looked on thy face, 

In grief, I have bowed my head, 

My cup filled with wine has turned to gall 
To Gethsemene’s Hill I have fled. 

Dear Christ! With thy spear-pierced side, 

And the blood on thy agonized brow, 

If in Spirit, thy memory serves to recall, 

Send thy love thoughts to help me now. 

With human woes my soul is tried, 

Prayers avail not to lift the weight. 

I feel that my spirit has lost its way, 

And Despair veils Eternity’s Gate. 

God’s Sun is hid from my gaze, 

There’s no light from the Stars’ milky way, 

All has vanished but sorrow, there’s no care 
for the morrow, 

Despair! is Master to-day. 


41 


YEARNING. 


The cloves on the sill are cooing and mating, 

The breeze thru the trees croons and sighs, 

In my dreams by night, I feel loving arms, 

And the stars shine like love-lit eyes. 

How often I pray that from out time and space 
My heart’s call will reach its soul’s mate, 

The spirit is weary and earth life will cease, 

If long I must wander and wait. 

My songs will die at the day of birth 
If no melody comes to the ear, 

And the heart be chilled with grief and despair, 

If no flower of love blooms to cheer. 


42 



THE ETERNAL SELF. 


I smell the perfume of roses, 

I see the love in your eyes’ 

They are the breath and soul 
And reflection of God— 

And it shows in the blue of the skies. 

Your voice I hear’ 

Your hand clasps mine 
And I know that the lasting and true, 

Are the indescribable voice and touch, 

They’re the eternal and wonderful YOU. 

I know that when earth with its sorrows and joys 
Has served its material aim,— 

And flesh has surrendered its immortal charge, 
That you will live on—be the same. 

A boundless love creates the plan 
For material life, and eternal man. 


43 



AT ONE-MENT. 


As the wind blows by from the sea, 

It revels in pure delight, 

And I feel that I am the breeze, 

And am flying beyond the sight. 

As 1 listen to music in rapture 
The self and me cease to be— 

I am One with Beauty, Nature and Art, 

I am God, and God is Me. 

To learn the fulfillment of His great plan, 
To know every joy and delight, 

Is to love and suffer, and greatness reflect, 
To grow daily in Wisdom and Might. 

A suffering face is God in pain; 

The Sun’s burst of glory at morn 
Is the Beauty and Spirit and Power of Him, 
We are, All is God, Earth re-born. 


44 




MY DUTY. 


Today I would live for the morrow, 

To the highest and best that I know, 
Forgetting self, greed and worry in thought 
So that good from the hours will flow. 

From the beauty and love that surround me 
I’ll draw strength to forget human strife, 

So that cheer and health will thrill and fill me 
With praise to Him who gives life. 

Prayer should be grateful expression, 

For a world of reflected Beauty, 

So let me live to the highest today 
That to-morrow may prove my duty. 


45 



VICTORIOUS DEATH! 


What is this line, this shadow between, 

This silence intense and unbroken? 

God gives the command, and it comes to pass— 
To each weary mortal ’tis spoken. 

Is it dreamless sleep, where we rest our souls 
Between each recurring life? 

Or eternal years, spent before God’s Throne 
Where forgotten is envy and strife? 

In each human heart gleams the star of hope 
That the lost be regained forever— 

A beseeching prayer for reunion at last 
Where Spirit and Love ne’er will sever. 

But the Soul of Man is not blind to the Glory 
That awaits the children of Men; 

Oh Immortal Future! Remembrance and Love! 
To die—is to Live again! 


46 



OH, LAND OF FREEDOM. 


Oh mighty land of Virtue, Freedom and Power, 
The Stars and Stripes above us wave, 

The country’s fair flow’r— 

Blest are the people then 
Who live and die for Thee, 

Free States United! Loyalty plighted! 

Thy name shall stand for evermore 
For Peace and Harmony. 

Fleeing a tyrant’s rule 

A band of Pilgrims came, 

To find at last Columbia’s shore, 

And build her great fame. 

So will we carry on 
That it may ever be 
Free States United! Loyalty plighted! 

The Stars and Stripes an emblem true 
For peace and harmony. 


47 


















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